AI AND NARRATIVES OF THE SELF

Abstract

The integration of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in educational contexts raises profound questions about the nature of knowledge and learning processes. This contribution explores, through a distinctly Brunerian lens, the possibility of understanding AI not as a mere tool of automation, but as a narrative mediator capable of supporting the negotiation of meaning within the classroom-as-community-of-inquiry.

Through the analysis of an exploratory study involving 127 primary school and lower secondary school teachers, the research highlights a significant polarization: while AI is widely accepted as a support for creativity and logistical efficiency, there remains a marked resistance toward its reflective and emotional dimensions, especially at the primary school level.

To address this critical issue, the article proposes the pedagogical device of the “Impossible Interview,” a workshop aimed at fostering self-projection and historical empathy through simulated dialogue with figures from the past or future projections of the self.

The results suggest that the effectiveness of AI in educational settings depends not on technical competence, but on the teacher’s ability to act as a “director of dialogue,” transforming algorithmic output into an opportunity for scaffolding the development of critical thinking and narrative resilience.